CVE-2025-46996 in Experience Manager
Summary
by MITRE • 07/24/2025
Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5.22 and earlier are affected by a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability that could be abused by a low privileged attacker to inject malicious scripts into vulnerable form fields. Malicious JavaScript may be executed in a victim’s browser when they browse to the page containing the vulnerable field.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/24/2025
Adobe Experience Manager represents a comprehensive digital experience platform that serves as a cornerstone for enterprise content management and digital marketing solutions. The platform's widespread adoption across organizations makes it a prime target for cyber adversaries seeking to exploit vulnerabilities that could compromise user sessions and access sensitive corporate data. This particular vulnerability affects versions 6.5.22 and earlier, indicating that a significant portion of deployed instances may remain exposed to potential exploitation. The stored XSS flaw specifically targets form fields within the AEM interface, creating a persistent threat vector that can affect multiple users over time.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output encoding mechanisms within the AEM form processing components. When low privileged users submit content through vulnerable form fields, the system fails to properly sanitize or escape malicious script payloads before storing them in the database. This allows attackers to inject JavaScript code that gets stored and subsequently executed whenever other users view the affected content. The vulnerability operates at the application layer and requires no special privileges beyond basic user access, making it particularly dangerous as it can be exploited by individuals with minimal authentication credentials. The attack vector is facilitated through the platform's content management capabilities where users can create and edit form data that gets rendered in web pages.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it can enable attackers to perform a range of malicious activities including session hijacking, credential theft, and data exfiltration. When victims browse to pages containing the stored malicious scripts, their browsers execute the injected JavaScript code within the context of their authenticated sessions. This creates opportunities for attackers to access sensitive information, modify content, or redirect users to malicious websites. The persistent nature of stored XSS means that the vulnerability remains active until the malicious content is removed from the system, potentially affecting numerous users over extended periods. Organizations utilizing AEM for customer data collection, employee management, or content publishing operations face significant risk exposure.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should prioritize immediate patching of affected AEM versions to the latest security releases. Organizations must implement comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms throughout the application's data handling processes, particularly for form fields and user-generated content. The implementation of Content Security Policy headers can provide additional protection layers by restricting script execution and preventing unauthorized code injection. Security teams should conduct thorough vulnerability assessments of AEM implementations to identify all potentially affected form fields and content areas. Regular security monitoring and log analysis should be enhanced to detect unusual content submissions or patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls and intrusion detection systems specifically configured to detect and block XSS attack patterns. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which addresses cross-site scripting flaws, and represents a technique that could be mapped to ATT&CK tactic TA0001 (Initial Access) and technique T1566 (Phishing) within the adversary framework.